The Bayard Rustin Queer History Archive has officially opened.
Supported by $25,000 in NJCH grant funding, the project features both a physical collection and a digital repository of papers, artifacts, videos, and other materials documenting the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin.
As chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a leader of the Freedom Rides, and a trusted adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., Rustin was one of the most influential yet underrecognized figures of the Civil Rights Movement. For decades, his story was largely omitted from mainstream histories due largely to his identity as a gay Black man.
Public awareness of Rustin’s contributions has grown in recent years, including the release of the Oscar-nominated 2023 Netflix film Rustin.
The archive, created by the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice in Princeton, is the first comprehensive collection of materials related to Rustin’s life and work. Visitors to the center have been able to view rotating displays from the physical archive throughout its development, and the fully searchable digital archive is now open to the public.
The project’s official opening was celebrated with a ceremony featuring State Senator Andrew Zwicker.
Watch video from the opening ceremony featuring State Senator Andrew Zwicker.
